Another 55 Gal drum question

I, too, am in the process of building cooker from a 55 gal drum. However, I'm building mine horizontal. I know. I know. For real BBQ the vertical is better. You folks have convinced me of that. That project is next.

For now, I'm building the horizontal. I want a big surface for grilling, and I can still smoke (perhaps somewhat inefficiently) with the fire on one side and the meat on the other.

I need advice on two things.

First, how far below the meat grate should the charcoal grate be? A solid bed of charcoal will bring the fire up from the grate 1 1/2 to 2 inchs. So, if I place the charcoal grate 6 inches below the meat grill there will be about 4 inches of space between the fire and the meat. Is that too far from the meat, too close, or about right? The more space I leave, the narrower the grate will be because of the curve of the barrel. What do you think.

Second, I have piece of 13 gauge expanded metal for the charcoal grate. Has anyone had any experience working with this stuff? Can I cut it with a hacksaw blade in my sabre saw? Can I bend it in my vice? I was thinking of cutting it 4 inches bigger than the size I want so I can cut out a 2 inch square on each corner and bend each side up 2 inches forming a box with 2 inch sides. This would help keep the charcoal away from the sides of the barrel.

When I get going on this I will post some pictures, if I can figure out how.

I'm not familiar with exactly what a 4" grinder is. Is this some kind of a blade that I can attach to my circular saw or my electric drill, or do I need a whole new tool? I am only familiar with bench grinders.